The Colonel
Do be careful, my boy. Don't want any of my men dying on me, ya hear? Got a special supply delivery coming in tonight. Wouldn't want to drink all that bourbon alone... Not in this goddamn place! The Colonel, later known as The General, is a side character and presumably the main antagonist in ''Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number'', where he'' is predominantly featured in Beard's scenes. He is the world weary leader of Beard's Unit. Events of ''Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number The Colonel is a US Army officer commanding American Special Forces in a conventional war against the USSR in the volcanic region of Hawaii. His unit is composed of 4 men: Jacket, Beard, Daniels and Barnes. Seemingly a sentimental and unoptimistic man at heart, the war progressively takes its toll on the mental state of the Colonel, who begins drinking heavily and displaying increasingly bizarre and hallucinatory behavior, much to his own team's worry. On the night of March 17th, 1985, he mans an armory counter and tells Beard to choose his weapon wisely and be careful as he doesn't want any of his men dying on him. His eyes are blinking out of sync, perhaps indicating he's already drunk. He alludes to a shipment of bourbon he doesn't want to drink alone. His quarters feature a US flag blanket on an army green bed, a table of radio equipment and intel sheets, and a desk featuring a bottle of alcohol, several pictures, several cigarette butts, some blueprints, and a parrot. The ground around the desk is littered with cigarette packs. On the morning of October 25th, 1985, the Colonel has stayed in his quarters abnormally long, prompting Beard to check on him. The quarters contains a turtle corpse with several scraps of paper burning on it, and what appears to be the 50 Blessings symbol on the shell. The Colonel is again visibly drunk, and his quarters now contains a half-empty food crate and several empty bean cans on the ground, along with a frying pot on a counter. His parrot is perched on his shoulder. He informs Beard that he's being promoted to Lt. General, but expresses disdain at the promotion as he doubts America will win the war. He comments that their next mission is a real piece of shit but that it should be their last. He advises Beard to stay frosty and stay alive. After the mission the Colonel is keeping the rest of the squad waiting, possibly receiving more orders. On October 30th at 2:16 AM, the Colonel's desk is a simple strategic table devoid of his personal possessions seen prior, and he has killed a panther, painting the future 50 Blessings symbol on the stripes of the American flag in its blood. He has also skinned the panther's face off and carved the symbol into its forehead, wearing the face as a mask. Raising his blood soaked hands, he delivers a speech to his unit: Do you see this? ... Can you see my face? This is my true nature! You see, don't you? This is who I am! This is who we all are. We're animals! ... There's no denying it! A bunch of goddamn animals! They're sending us out to slaughter or be slaughtered... And here we sit until they tell us what to do, and how to do it! No will of our own, just mindless obedience! We don't even know why we're fighting now, do we? All we know is that deep down, somewhere in there, we enjoy it. Destruction and violence... it's just part of our nature. This could be considered the foundational speech for 50 Blessings. After Beard asks if he's okay, the panther face slides off and the Colonel awkwardly explains that he's had too much to drink and is going to lie down. The next day, the panther corpse is cleaned up, but the 50 Blessings turtle corpse with burning papers returns by the window, which Jacket is smoking near. The Colonel is standing outside with a heavy machine gun. He tells Beard that he doesn't feel very good today. He says he's gotten word they're sending the unit home tomorrow, but that the squad will be headed straight into a trap and that there's nothing he can do about it. He fears they'll all be going home in body bags, and that it's been "damn good" commanding the squad. "We may not win this war, but I couldn't be more proud of you boys," he concludes. On December 28th, 1991, the Colonel, now an Army General, is the ringleader in an uprising that has killed the presidents of both the United States and the USSR at the Russo-American Coalition conference. Whether or not he was physically there is vague. This incident ignites global nuclear war. It is possible that he or some of his followers survive the nuclear apocalypse, given the existence of 50 Blessings nuclear-proof bunkers, meaning they were perfectly aware of the possible consequences of their actions and had prepared for them. Trivia * In the game files, The Colonel is referred to as General. He is later promoted to Lieutenant General as the war in Hawaii progresses. * Interestingly, he is not the only commander in the war in Hawaii to go insane, as his russian counterpart also goes insane during the events of Casualties. * He is most likely based off Colonel Walter E. Kurtz from the 1979 film Apocalypse Now. They are both bald and promising officers in the military hierarchy who went mentally unstable at the end of a war. ** The panther face he wears in the intro of Casualties is a reference to the Brandon mask in the first game, which is a tribute to Brandon McCartin.Dennaton Blog: Cameo Cards Still, because of the assonance, it can be interpreted as a tribute to Kurtz's actor in the movie, Marlon Brando. ** His promotion to Lt General and nuking of the world could be a reference to Lt General Jack D. Ripper in Doctor Strangelove. * It is heavily implied that The Colonel founded and led the 50 Blessings organization and orchestrated (if not actively participated in) the assassinations of the American and Russian Presidents which caused a nuclear war to break out at the end of Hotline Miami 2. The Colonel could thusly be considered to be the main antagonist of the entire Hotline Miami series, though he is never fought directly or worked against directly. Gallery Colonelhmg.jpg|The Colonel's in game sprite, wielding a Heavy Machine Gun. 2015-03-16 00004.jpg 2015-03-16 00005.jpg 2015-03-13 00001.jpg References Category:Biography Category:Hotline Miami 2 characters Category:Possibly alive Category:Unclear fate